Budget cuts proposed for National Guard

Soldiers with the Mississippi National Guard put some of the first boots on the ground after a disaster. They were in Louisville Tuesday moving debris and helping other first responders with searches.

Meanwhile, they've become the focus of a money debate in Washington. Some 2015 budget proposals would put the National Guard funding back to a pre-9/11 level.

"Making cuts to the National Guard is the wrong place to start cutting," said Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves.

Reeves signed off on a letter to the President Tuesday. 40 other leaders from across the country added their signatures.

"We've got a need to get our fiscal house in order at the national level, just like we've done in Mississippi," Reeves said Friday. "But there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. And starting by cutting our National Guard, it's bad for our country. And it's bad for our state."

The Guard has now completed their mission in the storm damaged areas. But the Governor says they were there since before the storms hit.

"The National Guard, as I said, was deployed on Sunday afternoon as I issued an executive order to begin the authority to deploy the Mississippi National Guard."

50 soldiers were in Tupelo and another 50 in Louisville. But it took resources from across the state to make it happen, including Black Hawks from the Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport.

Residents are still taking additional measures to stop the violence in Moss Point. Saturday afternoon, an outreach program on Main Street continued its efforts in the fight that's been going on for the past weeks.

Residents are still taking additional measures to stop the violence in Moss Point. Saturday afternoon, an outreach program on Main Street continued its efforts in the fight that's been going on for the past weeks.